Editing Jimmy Somerville (section)

==Career==
===Bronski Beat (1983–1985)===
[[File:Bronski Beat (1985 MCA publicity photo).jpg|thumb|right|Somerville (centre) with Bronski Beat (1985)]]

In 1983, Somerville co-founded the [[synth-pop]] group [[Bronski Beat]],<ref name="pop" /><ref name=cofounder>{{cite web |title=Jimmy Somerville official biography |url=http://www.jimmysomerville.co.uk/biography.php |access-date=23 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801061838/http://www.jimmysomerville.co.uk/biography.php |archive-date= 1 August 2010 }}</ref> which had several hits in the British charts. Their biggest hit was "[[Smalltown Boy]]", which peaked at number three on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="pop" /> In the music video Somerville plays the song's titular character, who leaves his hostile hometown for the friendlier city, reflecting Somerville's own experiences when he moved to London.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/London_Gay_Teenage_Group |title=London Gay Teenage Group in LGBTarchive |access-date=27 August 2018}} {{cite news|last=Williams|first=Clifford|title=Courage to Be: Organised Gay Youth in England 1967-90|year=2021|publisher=The Book Guild Ltd|isbn=9781913913632}}</ref>

Bronski Beat signed a recording contract with [[London Records]] in 1984 after doing only nine live [[concert|gigs]]. The band's debut single, "[[Smalltown Boy]]", about a gay teenager leaving his family and fleeing his home town, was a hit, peaking at No 3 in the [[UK Singles Chart]], and topping charts in Belgium and the Netherlands.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th

| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 79}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://top30-2.radio2.be/#/song-info/1150 |title= Smalltown Boy - BRONSKI BEAT |work= VRT |publisher= Top30-2.radio2.be |language= nl |access-date= 22 July 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120409063716/http://top30-2.radio2.be/#/song-info/1150 |archive-date= 9 April 2012 |df= dmy-all }} {{lang|nl|Hoogste notering in de top 30}} : 1</ref><ref>"[http://www.top40.nl/zoeken?search=Bronski+Beat+-+Smalltown+Boy Nederlandse Top 40 – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy search results]" (in Dutch) [[Dutch Top 40]]. Retrieved 20 December 2013.</ref><ref>"[http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Bronski+Beat&titel=Smalltown+Boy&cat=s Dutchcharts.nl – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy]" (in Dutch). [[Single Top 100|Mega Single Top 100]]. Retrieved 20 December 2013.</ref> The single was accompanied by a promotional [[music video|video]] directed by [[Bernard Rose (director)|Bernard Rose]], showing Somerville trying to befriend an attractive diver at a swimming pool, then being attacked by the diver's homophobic associates, being returned to his family by the police and having to leave home. (The police officer was played by Colin Bell, then the marketing manager of [[London Records]].) "Smalltown Boy" reached 48 in the U.S. [[record chart|chart]] and peaked at 8 in Australia.<ref name="auchart">{{Cite book|title=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Chart Book 1970–1992]] |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=[[St Ives, New South Wales|St Ives, NSW]] |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>

The follow-up single, "[[Why? (Bronski Beat song)|Why?]]", adopted a [[hi-NRG]] sound and was more lyrically focused on anti-gay [[prejudice]]. It also achieved [[Top 40|Top 10]] status in the UK, reaching 6,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> and was another Top 10 hit for the band in Australia, Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands. At the end of 1984, the trio released an album titled ''[[The Age of Consent (album)|The Age of Consent]]''. The inner sleeve listed the varying [[age of consent|ages of consent]] for consensual gay sex in different nations around the world. At the time, the age of consent for sexual acts between men in the UK was 21 compared with 16 for heterosexual acts, with several other countries having more liberal laws on gay sex. The album peaked at 4 in the [[UK Albums Chart]],<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> 36 in the U.S., and 12 in Australia.

===The Communards and solo (1985–1991)===

Somerville left Bronski Beat in 1985 and formed [[The Communards]] with classically-trained pianist [[Richard Coles]], who later became a [[Church of England]] vicar and broadcaster.<ref name=vicar>{{cite news|title=Revved Up: Richard Coles, a Very Modern Vicar|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/revved-up-richard-coles-a-very-modern-vicar-1859853.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220609/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/revved-up-richard-coles-a-very-modern-vicar-1859853.html |archive-date=9 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=10 January 2010|last=Stanford|first=Peter|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=23 September 2010}}</ref> They had several hits, including a cover version of [[Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes]]' "[[Don't Leave Me This Way]]",<ref name="pop" /> which spent four weeks at No. 1 in the UK charts and became the biggest-selling single of 1986 in the UK. He also sang backing vocals on [[Fine Young Cannibals]]' version of "[[Suspicious Minds]]", which was a UK Top 10 hit.

The Communards split in 1988; Somerville began a solo career the following year. He released his debut solo album ''[[Read My Lips (Jimmy Somerville album)|Read My Lips]]'' in November 1989,<ref name="pop" /> which contained three UK Top 30 hits, including a hit cover of [[Sylvester James|Sylvester]]'s disco song "[[You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)#Jimmy Somerville version|You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)]]" and a cover of "[[Comment te dire adieu? (song)|Comment te dire adieu?]]", a duet with [[June Miles-Kingston]], which reached number 14 in the [[UK Singles chart]]. He also sang on the second [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] project at the end of 1989.

In November 1990, Somerville's greatest-hits album ''[[The Singles Collection 1984/1990]]'' (which featured his hits with Bronski Beat and The Communards in addition to his own material) was released; it reached number 4 on the UK Album Chart. It included a reggae cover of the [[Bee Gees]]' hit song "[[To Love Somebody (song)|To Love Somebody]]", which also reached the UK Top 10. Also in 1990, Somerville contributed the song "[[From This Moment On (Cole Porter song)|From This Moment On]]" to the [[Cole Porter]] tribute album ''[[Red Hot + Blue]]'' produced by the [[Red Hot Organization]], the proceeds from which benefited AIDS research.

===''Dare to Love'' and other works (1991–1997)===
{{Quote box|width=26%|align=right|quote="I don't think it's fair to tell your audience that you're gay, but that you're not going to acknowledge it in your primary form of creative expression. It's an unfortunate manipulation of honesty that collects gay dollars without an even exchange. But my intention is not to help people live in oblivion. It is to be honest. And that is far more important than gold-selling records"|source=—Somerville interviewed by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' weeks before launching ''Dare to Love''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1995/BB-1995-04-04.pdf|date=1995-03-04|title=Sommerville's Back In A 'Heartbeat' {{!}} Single Leads Off London's 'Dare To Love'|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|author=[[Larry Flick]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation|PMC]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201011330/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1995/BB-1995-04-04.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=1 February 2023}}(p. 33)</ref>}}

In 1991, Somerville provided backing vocals to a track called "Why Aren't You in Love With Me?" from the album ''[[Ripe (Banderas album)|Ripe]]'' by Communards offshoot band [[Banderas (duo)|Banderas]]. The Banderas duo, Caroline Buckley and Sally Herbert, had previously been part of Somerville's backing band. After this, he disappeared from the limelight for several years. He returned in 1995 with the album ''Dare to Love'', which included "[[Heartbeat (Jimmy Somerville song)|Heartbeat]]" (a UK Top 30 hit and a No. 1 hit on the [[Hot Dance Club Play|US dance chart]]), "[[It Hurts So Good|Hurt So Good]]" and "[[By Your Side (Jimmy Somerville song)|By Your Side]]", though commercial success was now beginning to elude him and his contract with London Records to which he had been signed for over a decade came to an end.

===''Manage the Damage'' and recent activity (1997–present)===
[[File:Jimmy Somerville in Warsaw.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Somerville at the Skarpa club in [[Warsaw]], [[Poland]], June 2006]]

A new single, "Dark Sky", was released in 1997 and peaked at No. 66 in the UK. In the same year he provided vocals on "[[The Number One Song in Heaven]]" for the [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]] album ''[[Plagiarism (Sparks album)|Plagiarism]]'' with production by [[Tony Visconti]]. His third album, entitled ''Manage The Damage'', was released in 1999 via [[Gut Records]], but failed to chart. A companion remix album, ''Root Beer'', came out in 2000. His dance-orientated fourth solo album, ''Home Again'', was released in 2004, again not charting.

In May 2009, Somerville release the ''Suddenly Last Summer'' album, which contained acoustic interpretations of other people's songs. The album was initially only available as a digital download but in May 2010 was made available in a limited edition (3,000 copies) CD/DVD in the UK. In late 2010, Somerville released a dance EP called ''Bright Thing''. 2010's EP ''Bright Thing'' was the first of a series of three, with Somerville releasing ''Momentum'' in 2011 and ''Solent'' in 2012, with long-term collaborator John Winfield.

Somerville released a disco-inspired album called ''[[Homage (Jimmy Somerville album)|Homage]]'' in 2015.<ref name="Homage" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jimmy-somerville-interview-i-wanted-people-love-me-10076014.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220609/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/jimmy-somerville-interview-i-wanted-people-love-me-10076014.html |archive-date=9 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Jimmy Somerville Interview: "I Wanted People To Love Me" |last=Martin |first=Laura |date=28 February 2015 |website=The Independent |access-date=14 August 2021}}</ref> Singles were "Back to Me" followed by "Travesty". The emphasis in recording the album was on achieving the musical authenticity of original disco which Somerville grew up listening to. He stated: "I've finally made the disco album I always wanted to and never thought I could."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jimmy|first1=Somerville|title=Homage (Limited Edition)|url=https://jimmysomerville.bandcamp.com/album/homage-limited-edition|website=bandcamp.com|access-date=1 January 2016}}</ref>

He has also had an acting career, appearing in [[Sally Potter]]'s 1992 film of [[Virginia Woolf]]'s ''[[Orlando (movie)|Orlando]]'', in [[Isaac Julien]]'s 1989 ''[[Looking for Langston]]'', and in an episode of the cult science fiction television series ''[[Lexx]]'' ("Girltown").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0631306/fullcredits/|title=Lexx: The Dark Zone Stories Girltown (TV Episode 2000) - Full Cast and Crew |publisher=IMDb|at=imdb.com|access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref>{{unreliable source|sure=yes|reason=Per WP:IMDB, IMDB is user-generated and may be unreliable|date=January 2024}}

In February 2021, Somerville teamed up with producer Sally Herbert (formerly of 1990s duo [[Banderas (duo)|Banderas]] and also part of [[The Communards]]' backing band) to record a cover of "Everything Must Change" by [[Benard Ighner]] as a charity record for End Youth Homelessness, a network of projects which includes [[Centrepoint (charity)|Centrepoint]] in London and a number of other homeless charity organisations around the UK.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jimmy Somerville Supports Plight of Youth Homelessness with Nina Simone Cover {{!}} LBBOnline|url=https://www.lbbonline.com/news/jimmy-somerville-supports-plight-of-youth-homelessness-with-nina-simone-cover|access-date=21 July 2021|website=www.lbbonline.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=24 February 2021|title=Homelessness charity launches new campaign with Jimmy Somerville|url=https://www.classicpopmag.com/2021/02/homelessness-charity-launches-new-campaign-with-jimmy-somerville/|access-date=21 July 2021|website=Classic Pop Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>